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We sure throw a fine sunset ’round these parts.

In March 2011 a group of American Association of Museums members visited Cuba. Here is a short video about the trip that I co-produced with Deborah Ziska, Chief of Press for the National Gallery of Art.

Allow me a moment to wax rhapsodic once more about my cat. He is a handsome devil, as evidenced by his photo below, but the thing that makes him special, that makes him The World’s Best Orange Tabby™, is that he is the happiest cat on the planet.

Case in point – For my birthday, my nephew got me a balloon. Not just any balloon, but one of the mylar ones that last forever. Bringing a balloon into the house, especially one that’ll still be floating around a week from now, hits TWBOT like a truckload of catnip. His eyes go huge and he starts purring so loud you can hear him in the next room.

You see, it’s not the balloon itself but the string that dangles from it that drives him wild. It’s The String Game, writ large! And there is nothing more this tabby enjoys more than chasing, subduing, and releasing to the wild a piece of string. He’s fanatical about it, so therefore the presence of a balloon literally means that the fun never has to end. There it is, just inches above my head! If I can just…oh, yeah! Come to papa!

It’s kitty nirvana… Which is a blessing and a curse. On the up side, he’s the happiest cat on the planet. He purrs at it. He meows at it. He walks through the house with it in his mouth. He’ll wear himself out chasing it, chewing on it, playing catch and release with it. When he tires, he’ll curl up next to you purring at maximum volume, as if to say “Thank you. You have given me joy beyond all comprehension. As a token of my affection, I’m going to keep you up all night long.”

You see, that’s the downside. Since the game doesn’t have to stop when Dad’s arm finally gives out, he’s free to pursue it any time he wishes. And for this particular tabby, that appears to be 2:00 in the morning. It’s worth it, though.

I am Ubik.
Before the universe was, I am.
I made the suns. I made the worlds.
I created the lives and the places they inhabit;
I move them here, I put them there.
They go as I say, they do as I tell them.
I am the word and my name is never spoken,
the name which no one knows.
I am called Ubik, but that is not my name.
I am. I shall always be.

Ubik, by Phillip K. Dick